Early Monday morning, the National Hurricane Center declared Ian has reached hurricane status, with sustained minimum winds of 75 mph.
Early Monday morning, Tropical Storm Ian strengthened into a hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), and it now poses an increased risk to Florida and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
The storm — expected to strengthen rapidly over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico — seems to have its eyes on Florida, though spaghetti models continue to shift the storm slightly east and west. As it closed in on the Gulf Monday morning, meteorologists indicated that the uncertainty regarding the storm’s track and strength is “higher than usual.”
“Considerable flooding impacts are possible mid-to-late week in central Florida given already saturated antecedent conditions, and flash and urban flooding is possible with rainfall across the Florida Keys and the Florida peninsula through mid-week,” the NHC warned.
Regardless of location, all Floridians were asked to prepare for the worst, as large portions of the state will likely experience intense thunderstorm activity, possible tornadoes, and heavy flooding as Hurricane Ian makes its way to the U.
